NJ’s Historic Opportunity to Secure The Right to a Healthy Environment

New Jersey is just one of the 48 U.S. states that fails to recognize and protect the right to clean water, clean air and the healthy environments necessary to support healthy lives and economies. New Jersey, along with New York, is also poised to become the next state to recognize and protect this right.

On November 30, I had the honor of joining Assemblyman Tim Eustace, Assemblywoman Nancy J. Pinkin and Asseymblywoman Shavonda E. Sumter to announce proposal of a constitutional amendment to the New Jersey state constitution that would recognize and protect peoples’ environmental rights. On January 9, 2018, Assemblyman Tim Eustace and Assemblywoman Nancy J. Pinkin introduced the bill that would amend the state Constitution and enshrine every New Jerseyan’s “right to a clean and healthy environment, including pure water, clean air, and ecologically healthy habitats,” and to protect these rights for “both present and future generations.”

Fish dead in Pond Run due to lack of water

For decades, the people of New Jersey have relied federal and state legislation to protect their natural resources. And for decades, the laws have let them down. New Jersey water, air, forests, and other special places from the highlands to the pinelands have been allowed to degrade in ways that are harming people’s lives. A Constitutional provision could help change that.

In New Jersey the right to free speech, freedom of religion and other freedoms are protected as fundamental rights in the state constitution. But New Jersey has NO constitutional provision protecting environmental rights in the state.

Right now, we need the NJ Assembly to support and pass Assembly Concurrent Resolution №85 (ACR85) currently before them. Every Assembly member needs to hear how important this environmental rights amendment is from their voters.

The Navajo Nation is not the only tribe that has historical and cultural ties to Chaco Canyon, as well as being preoccupied with battling the pandemic. Pueblo tribes consider Chaco Canyon as their anc...

Think about how health and medical problems that arise from living near a pollution plant would impact your family, finances, ability to work, learn, and grow, which impacts your family, finances, ability to work, learn, and grow, which yet again, impacts your family, finances, and ability to work, learn, and grow.

We had an off-air chat on Tuesday with former pro-fracker, Mark Lichty, about what made him change his mind on the industry and why he decided to go on and produce the film "Pennsylvania: A Fractured State". Maya and Mark discuss ways to grow the #GreenAmendment movement to protect our air and water from the fracking industry.